RD: Meltdown
Overview When the crew use a matter paddle Kryten discovered on Z deck to travel to the nearest S3 atmospheric planet, they end up fighting in a planetary war. Summary Using a matter paddle Kryten discovers on Z deck, the crew are transported to a planet (actually a waxdroid theme park) where a war is going on between waxdroids of good guys (from 'Hero World') and bad guys (from 'Villain World'). The good guys consist of characters such as Albert Einstein, The Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, Father Christmas, Winnie the Pooh, Queen Victoria, Ghandi, Abraham Lincoln, Pythagoras, Marilyn Monroe, and Elvis Presley, disorganised by their lack of a leader. The bad guys consist of characters such as KKK members, Al Capone, Mussolini, Caligula, James Last, Richard III, and Hitler, with Caligula and Hitler as their leaders. It is revealed that the waxdroids broke their programming, and are fighting a war that Abe Lincoln calls the 'Wax War". Kryten and Rimmer beam in to 'Prehistoric World', which bisects the planet. They are captured by Elvis and Pope Gregory, and are taken to good guy HQ, where Rimmer declares himself leader of the Hero faction. Cat and Lister beam in to Hitler's war room, and beam out again, ending up in the chimney. Lister explains to Cat who the members of the room are: "The short one with the stupid tash was Hitler and the jerky one with the child molester glasses was Goebbles. Which means the fat bastard must have been Goering, must have been. He was a cocaine addict and a transvestite." Cat and Lister are imprisoned with Abe Lincoln, who explains the war after Lister watches the execution of Winnie the Pooh. After being interrogated by an effeminate Caligula, Cat, Lister and Honest Abe get back to Hero HQ. When Lister and Cat attempt to end the war, while Rimmer and an unwilling Kryten continue the war, Cat and Lister are imprisoned. Rimmer does his best to train the "soldiers", but fails miserably, with three melting from exhaustion. In the end, because of a "daylight charge, over the minefield", everyone (except the Red Dwarf crew) dies. As punishment, Lister swallows Rimmer's light bee saying that Rimmer will come out in a couple of days, so he can go through what he put them through and that he fancied eating a Vindaloo as they returned to Red Dwarf. Notes *For the last two episodes of Series IV the closing credits do not include the standard Red Dwarf theme song. At the end of Dimension Jump the Hammond Organ version of the song is played without any lyrics. In Meltdown, the Elvis look-alike waxdroid sings the Red Dwarf theme at the end. *This is the first time the Light Bee is shown and spoken of, it also explains how Rimmer can lie on a bed or sit on a chair, because of that "small physical presence". *To explain Rimmer's even more than usually demented behavior, Kryten advances a theory that Lister damaged his light bee when he swallowed it and spat it out before, making the slaughter of the wax droids Lister's indirect fault. Noteworthy Dialogue *'Elvis:' "Reach for the sky, boys! Let me see them understains." *'Elvis:' "Anybody got a burger? Haven't eaten in five minutes" *'Caligula': "Bring in the bucket of soapy frogs and remove his trousers!" Background Information Any behind the scenes information or any other information that doesn't fit in the other categories. Guest Stars Actor and character they played. Elvis Presley - Clayton Mark Adolf Hitler - Kenneth Hadley Albert Einstein - Martin Friend Pythagoras - Stephen Tiller Abraham Lincoln - Jack Klaff Caligula - Tony Hawks Pope Gregory - Michael Burrell Stan Laurel - Forbes Masson Noel Coward - Roger Blake Marilyn Monroe - Pauline Bailey Errors Apparently Rimmer wiped out all of the planet's population, but what about the dinosaurs near the start of the episode? He wiped out the intelligent life, as in the Wax Droids based on humans and fictional characters in Hero world and Villain world. References Other articles of things featured in this particular episode. Category:Episodes Category:Series IV Episodes